Chasing waterfalls
Hi BoBers,
Travis and I moved on to a small village called Aïguel, entirely fenced off to protect from pests. The entire interior was a single flourishing green field, punctuated by houses. I’ve never seen agriculture and residential land so tightly intertwined. It was also overflowing with avocados. So much so that they were practically worthless to the locals. No toast though, unfortunately otherwise I might’ve exploded into a cloud of millenial joy.
Due to a very African mix up involving a visiting friend, bad roads and another village with exactly the same name 15km away, we stayed two nights. Then we struck out into the countryside for the most beautiful hiking of this trip. Flowing green grass. Crystal clear water rushing over rapids and crashing over waterfalls. The air was brisk, so welcome after the sweltering heat of the coast. Thunderstorms loomed and rumbled over the horizon, everpresent. I’ve used up my adjective quota for the day so I’ll just let the photos do the talking.
We found an incredible spot to camp and were considering staying another night before the ear flies struck again. We had a choice. Either stay in our tents the entire day, stay outside constantly guarding our orifices or head back. We chose to head back, packed our bikes and made the gruelling trip over corrugated, rocky tracks back to the main road. It was sproket-tooth-ratting, gruelling riding. On the way we passed over a semi-famous “vine” suspension bridge, which had been thoroughly tamed. For the better because it already felt sketchy with 3cm thick cable under our feet. It was a tight squeeze and took more than half an hour to ferry the bags and then cross the swaying bridge, two at a time while avoiding snagging the pedals and handlebars.
The casual cruelty towards animals is hard to witness. Cows are branded with knives and live chickens are bound to cars and motorcycles for trips lasting hours. Too many human problems to worry about animal welfare, I guess.
After reaching the main road, we had a quick break at a hotel with hot showers (!!) and then set off for Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Shaking, rattling and rolling forward,
J&BoB
